15 February, 2003

The Mathematical Art of M.C. Escher

Lots of good stuff
here, including a
reference to one of my all-time favorite books by Douglas R. Hofstadter.

Our final consideration of Escher's art involves its
relationship to the fields of information science and artificial intelligence.
This aspect of his work has been largely overlooked in previous studies, but the
case for its importance to these fields was forcefully made by Douglas R.
Hofstadter in his 1980 Pulitzer Prize winning book,
G�del, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid.

Posted on 15 February, 2003

Absurd EULA

If you think software license agreements have gotten out of hand, you ain't
seen nothing yet. Here's an excerpt that appears in a study manual for a
standardized Professional Actuarial Examination from BPP Actuarial Education:

"All study material produced by BPP Actuarial Education is
copyright and is sold for the exclusive use of the purchaser. You may not hire
out, lend, give out, sell, store or transmit electronically or photocopy any
part of the study material. You must take care of your study material to ensure
that it is not used or copied by anybody else. By opening this pack you agree to
these conditions. Returns will not be accepted if this pack is opened."

Keep in mind that this is a book -- a physical object. Is this a futile
attempt to wipe out the used book market and eradicate fair use? The most
amusing part is that they probably think it's actually enforceable.

Duct Tape Fashion

The terror alert has put a run on duct tape in some areas. We
lowered our price to help meet this urgent demand. The catch is you can't pick
the color; we'll send you the most available of the 12 colors we stock. Next Day
and 2nd Day shipping available.

Posted on 15 February, 2003

Windows XP Passwords Useless?

Anyone with a Windows 2000 CD can boot up a Windows XP box and
start the Windows 2000 Recovery Console, a troubleshooting program. Windows XP
then allows the visitor to operate as Administrator without a password, even if
the Administrator account has a strong password. The visitor can also operate in
any of the other user accounts that may be present on the XP machine, even if
those accounts have passwords. Unbelievably, the visitor can copy files from the
hard disk to a floppy disk or other removable media - something even an
Administrator is normally prevented from doing when using the Recovery Console.

Even though Windows XP is hyped as "the most secure version ever," the
scenario described above is not possible with Windows 2000.

Posted on 15 February, 2003

A EULA Lawsuit

A California woman is suing Microsoft, Symantec and some
software retailers, claiming the companies "concocted a scheme" to mislead
consumers by requiring them to consent to software licensing agreements they
haven't read.

Specifically, the suit, which was brought by Cathy Baker,
claims that Microsoft, Symantec, CompUSA, Best Buy and other unnamed retailers
don't allow people to read "shrink wrap" licenses -- agreements printed inside
the box or incorporated into the software itself -- before they buy a product.

And, of course, retailers don't allow you to return software that has been
opened. The ultimate Catch 22. It's about time that someone challenged this
absurd practice.

Posted on 15 February, 2003

The Makeup Gallery

...is the best photo-gallery on the Web featuring actresses in
character and prosthetic makeups by some of the best makeup artists. There are
over 5000 images from more than 600 movies and TV shows. The transformations
from actress into character are illustrated with before and after shots and,
wherever possible, with behind the scenes shots of the makeup process.